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The Cataclysm
The Cataclysm is name for both the creation event that formed Halse and its hibernating god. Inception Dragonkind's legends say that the Cataclysm once belonged to a clan of nine gods called the Unity. They escaped from a "doomed universe" into this one after the destruction of their homeworld. Next to nothing is known about what exactly forced them out of that universe. The Unity set out into the outer darkness to find a new blank slate upon which to enact their magic. After a time, they tried recreate their homeworld on the then-inhospitable planet that would become Halse, shaping it with mana and blessing it with the gift of life in act called the Blossoming. Many intelligent races arose. The smartest and most beautiful of their creations, faeries, earned their favor by being the first to offer sacrifices to the Unity. As a reward, the gods allowed them to have dominion over the entire land. Dragons, a hardier and magnificent race who were just as intelligent, were also favored, but not as much due to their hubris. Eight of the gods were the primary architects of the Blossoming, with the youngest ninth member left out because of its inexperience. Consequently the gods' subjects were unaware of its existence. Still, it practiced its creation magic in secret, engineering some very subtle, strange touches and keeping a protective eye over its favorite creatures. Conflict and Destruction At some point during the young planet's formation, a passionate disagreement over an unknown issue broke out among the Unity. This escalated to war, with four gods siding against another four. They warped the faeries and dragons into soldiers for their use, and likewise converted the planet into a militaristic setting. Much blood was spilled, mostly that of the mortals. The last remaining god, the youngest, was put under immense pressure to choose a side. Instead, deeply upset and desperate to stop the war, it unleashed an untested, hugely destructive spell that ripped across the planet and fatally wounded the other gods. This event, and the youngest god, came to be known as the Cataclysm, as the mortals thought them to be one and the same. Even today there is a great deal of religious disagreement over whether it was an intelligent being or a sudden event that put a stop to the war. The nature of the Cataclysm was such that the relatively-fragile faeries were driven nearly to extinction, unable to handle the burst of mana that now tainted the atmosphere. The dragons likewise were crippled, their magic powers absorbed by the magic storm. The chaotic aftermath played havoc with the laws of nature, which threatened to physically rend the planet in this new period of instability. Dormancy Greatly weakened by its own spell, the newly-christened Cataclysm began to fall into a deep, involuntary cosmic sleep almost immediately afterwards. But it was struck with feelings of remorse and shame, and vowed to atone for its grievous mistake before losing consciousness. The Cataclysm destroyed the lifeless bodies of the Unity, ensuring that they could never come back to life by flinging their remains across the world. Unfortunately, it also wiped out most of the faeries and dragons, as well as all of the other races. Using the remnants of its power, the young god reverted the faeries to their original peaceful form, wiped the bloodlust from the dragons' minds and transformed their bodies into lesser beings, which came to be known as drakes, and created a hiding place for itself somewhere within Halse. It sealed itself away by tearing the seams of reality in that spot in order to keep mortals away and letting the bad memories of the failed gods be put to rest. As a result, the faeries were beginning to die out and the drakes went into hiding out of shame. Eventually, human refugees from a dying world came to Halse and found its conditions very suitable for their survival. It is said that the Cataclysm's last act before falling asleep was to sympathize with the humans and infuse them with its essence, but what is meant by these old legends is unclear at best. Common Knowledge and Religion The various faiths of faeries and drakes tell altered versions of the above story, with parts missing, omitted altogether, or generally inaccurate. The Blossoming and the Cataclysm are commonly agreed to have happened, but the Dormancy of the Cataclysm is contested, as are motivations and details of all three.